Strange Attractor

"Kris," Faye asks, "do you not have any slabs?"

"Slabs? What are you talking about?"

"Like, copper slabs, so you don't have to give away money every time you don't have enough change," Faye says as the woman working at the stable leads our horse and carriage away to the lot.

"Truth be told, I looted these coins from dead soldiers, so I have no idea what slabs you are referring to."

"Oh, they are just squares that are worth ten coins of the same metal."

"That's a thing?"

I look into my pouch to see if there is any. They all look like normal coins to me, except for one. One of the gold coins is weirdly shaped. Rather than looking like a circle, it's more of a square with rounded corners, and the engravings on it are slightly different.

"Is this it?" I pull the strange gold coin out from the pouch and ask.

Faye's eyes open wide.

"A gold slab!" She exclaims under her breath.

"I-Is it?"

"Yeah. That's so much money," she whispers.

"Oh, well, I'd better take good care of it, then," I say and drop it back into my pouch.

"These soldiers… where did you find them?" Faye asks.

"Just out and about in the forest. They were fighting Lohikaarmi before I met her. You can guess the rest."

"They must have been a squad of Mission Crusaders, then," she says.

"A squad of what?"

"Mission Crusaders. They are the most elite of the military under the Church. Other than that, I don't know much about them."

I look over to Astra, and she nods slightly.

Well, they didn't seem to me to be all that elite when they were swiped to pieces by Lohikaarmi.

"Interesting. Anyways, the sun is almost setting, shall we settle down at the inn?" I ask.

"Sure," Faye says.

"Let's all share a bed!" Astra exclaims.

"You can go share a bed with the donkeys," I say and pull on Astra's ear.

"Ow, ow, ow."

Faye puts her hand up to her mouth and chuckles.

I look over to Lohikaarmi, and she is gazing up at the mountains beside the village. There is deep thought in her eyes that I can't understand.

"Lohikaarmi, what's wrong?" I ask.

She snaps out of her trance and turns back to me.

"Nothing is wrong, Master," she says.

She must have been reminiscing or something.

I glance around for where the inn might be, and indeed, it's right across the street from the stable. There is no mistaking it.

A wide, three-storied building with a semi-cylindrical roof stands a short distance behind us. The second and third floors protrude out toward the street, creating a ledge over the wooden front doors, and below that ledge hangs a sign that reads, "SOUTH CIMAVETTA INN". That wasn't hard to find at all.

"Come on, let's go," I say and release Astra from my pinch. She pouts and caresses her red earlobe.

As I lead the four of us toward the inn, the light of dusk floods the mountainside village, enveloping the town in a beautiful purple. It looks as if the edge of the sky has been ignited, bleeding red into the evening.

I push the wooden doors open and step in.

Similar to the tavern in Alventyr, the room we are greeted by is a dining area, and there is a bar on the other side of the room. Half a dozen guests sit separated at circular tables, some elves, some not.

A few paintings hang around the walls. I am no art expert, but they all look rather amateurish. The tavern is lit by a couple of chandeliers, the lights from which dance with the flames.

While the elves don't bat an eye, the humans shift their focus over here and examine us with curious gazes. Ignoring their stares, I walk to the bar, where a man is cleaning something with his back turned to me.

"Hey," I say while knocking twice on the bar counter.

The man, who is wearing a slick black vest, turns around. He is young, not much older than me. A thin and still-developing mustache dangles beneath his sharp nose. He takes a quick scan of me and the girls, except for Astra, who is once again too short to be seen.

"Hey, can I help you?" He asks and puts down the cup he was cleaning.

"Do you have any rooms left?" I ask.

"Yes. We have one available," he says.

"Just one?"

"That's right."

"We will take it, then. How much for one night?"

"Two copper coins."

"Alright. Oh, can you also break down some coins into slabs for me?"

"Sure thing."

That's how business is supposed to be done. I take out four coppers and two silvers and hand it to the bartender, or whose job I assume to be the bartender.

"Thank you," he says. He takes the coins and bends down to open a cabinet under the counter.

A few jingling sounds later, he comes back up with a pile of square coins in his hands.

"Here you go, sir." He sets it down.

"Thanks, and, if I may ask, why are the people staring at me?"

The bartender curves his eyes and snickers.

"With all due respect, isn't that what you want, sir?" He asks.

"I'm sorry?"

"That's why you dyed your hair, in't? So people can stare at you."

Huh?

"Um," I say, "I didn't dye my hair. It's natural."

"Sure it is," he says and reaches his hand over my head and ruffles my hair.

I slap his arm away.

"Watch it."

"Sorry for my intrusion, sir, but it's just to prove a point." He holds up his hand in front of me to show it, which has nothing on it to show, and when he looks at it himself, his mouth opened slightly. The bartender pulls his hand into his own face to examine it closely.

"There's no residue… It really is natural," he mutters.

Is there supposed to be residue even if my hair was not natural? Oh well, dye during this period is probably not that good.

"Hey! I have golden hair too!" A voice comes from below the counter as Astra pulls herself up to show the bartender. He takes a look and becomes even more surprised.

"What's wrong with it?" I ask.

"Do you really not know, sir?"

"No."

"In the scriptures, our Goddess is said to have hair of gold, and in Terradivina, only Her Holiness the Pope has it."

"Does that mean I am the pope?" I ask.

"Don't be ridiculous. A man can't be the pope, as the for the little girl here… there can't be another one so soon. How… strange."

"Huh, might just be a coincidence. My entire family has the same hair like me," I say, not wanting to raise any more suspicion.

"I suppose. Anyways, your room is the last one on the right down the hallway on the third floor, sir."

He definitely could have explained it more slowly.

"Alright."

"We will be serving dinner soon if you would like to join us. Otherwise, please enjoy your stay," he says and bows gently.

"Thank you."